The structure of studies in human geography in foreign countries is analyzed basing on the materials of the 2018 Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers-the largest scientific event as for participant numbers. It is revealed that theoretical and methodical studies are responding new social challenges and focus on the practical needs of territorial governance. The wide breadth of topics is supported by the use of new data (including «big data»). There is a trend for the dominance of urban research with the «in-depth» expansion of themes. Specific features of the Western societal structure and discourse explain the increased interest in the topics of social justice and the «spatial» rights of the vulnerable groups of population and migrants.